Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Steadfast.Enduring.Unwavering.
Dear friends and partners in ministry,
As I look back on 2024, I am filled with both gratitude and resolve. This year’s theme —Steadfast— is drawn from 1 Corinthians 15:58, which urges us to “be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” These words have anchored us through a year marked by meaningful growth and quiet perseverance.
While we celebrate the growth we’ve seen, we also recognize that 2024 brought unique challenges for many. Amid uncertainty and change, our missionaries and staff remained faithful, serving as beacons of light and peace in the communities where they minister. Their presence, compassion, and commitment powerfully reflect the hope we have in Christ. In their steadfastness, we see the heart of this mission lived out each day.
This Annual Ministry Report is filled with stories from the field, and we pray they will stir your heart and strengthen your hope. These accounts shine a light on the quiet strength and sacrificial love of those laboring for the gospel across campuses, cities, and nations. They bear witness to what God is doing through your generosity.
To our supporters: thank you. Your faithful giving, your prayers, your encouragement—it matters. You make it possible for us to stand firm alongside churches and missionaries, equipping them to remain steadfast in their calling.
As we look ahead to 2025, we do so with both resolve and hope. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). May we continue walking steadfastly in faith, trusting that our labor is not in vain and that God remains faithful to complete the work He has begun.
With humble gratitude and great expectation,
From the
President & CEO
Tom Mauriello
Dear friends and partners in ministry,
As I look back on 2024, I am filled with both gratitude and resolve. This year’s theme —Steadfast— is drawn from 1 Corinthians 15:58, which urges us to “be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” These words have anchored us through a year marked by meaningful growth and quiet perseverance.
While we celebrate the growth we’ve seen, we also recognize that 2024 brought unique challenges for many. Amid uncertainty and change, our missionaries and staff remained faithful, serving as beacons of light and peace in the communities where they minister. Their presence, compassion, and commitment powerfully reflect the hope we have in Christ. In their steadfastness, we see the heart of this mission lived out each day.
This Annual Ministry Report is filled with stories from the field, and we pray they will stir your heart and strengthen your hope. These accounts shine a light on the quiet strength and sacrificial love of those laboring for the gospel across campuses, cities, and nations. They bear witness to what God is doing through your generosity.
To our supporters: thank you. Your faithful giving, your prayers, your encouragement—it matters. You make it possible for us to stand firm alongside churches and missionaries, equipping them to remain steadfast in their calling.
As we look ahead to 2025, we do so with both resolve and hope. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). May we continue walking steadfastly in faith, trusting that our labor is not in vain and that God remains faithful to complete the work He has begun.
With humble gratitude and great expectation,
Staying Steadfast: A Message from Tom
Staying Steadfast: A Message from Tom
Staying Steadfast: A Message from Tom
Ministry
Impact
Overview
382 |
New Mobilized Workers in 2024 |
391 |
Active Short-Term (1-2 years) Field Staff* *According to a report from Missio Nexus, Reliant had the largest number of short-term staff among 105 mission agencies. |
1,065 |
Total Active Reliant Staff (Highest in Reliant History) |
95 |
New Church, Ministry, and Nonprofit Partnerships formed in 2024 |
448 |
Total Active Church, Ministry, and Nonprofit Partners (Highest in Reliant History) |
$61.8M |
in Giving in 2024 (Highest in Reliant History) |
Ministry
Impact
Overview
382 | New Mobilized Workers in 2024 |
391 | Active Short-Term (1-2 years) Field Staff* *According to a report from Missio Nexus, Reliant had the largest number of short-term staff among 105 mission agencies. |
1,065 | Total Active Reliant Staff |
95 | New Church, Ministry, and Nonprofit Partnerships formed in 2024 |
448 | Total Active Church, Ministry, and Nonprofit Partners (Highest in Reliant History) |
$61.8M | in Giving in 2024 |
Stories from the Field:
Real Lives, Real Impact
Halle May Barnard
Leaps of Faith
In this story, Halle May of Leaps of Faith Ballet Ministry in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, shares a powerful testimony of how God works in and through His people. What began as a small ballet class of just eight students in a school cafeteria has grown into a thriving ministry with nearly 100 dancers. Leaps of Faith offers free ballet classes while sharing the gospel with children who might not otherwise have access to either. Over the past ten years, they have seen God open doors, meet needs, and strengthen the faith of both students and leaders in remarkable ways.
.png?sfvrsn=9a01d277_2)
Reliant Workers in Middle East
10:2 Initiative
A Reliant worker reflects on a year marked by profound challenges and God’s sustaining grace in their ministry team. Serving in the Middle East, they faced political unrest from the Israel–Gaza conflict, detainment, health issues, and team separation. In the midst of fear and suffering, they remained steadfast, watching God open doors for gospel conversations and provide strength beyond their own. Grounded in the hope of God’s promises, they continue their ministry with faith that their presence and witness are not in vain.
Read Reliant Workers in Middle East Story
.png?sfvrsn=6106d277_2)
Cash Fields
Central Church
In this interview, we sit down with Cash Fields, a ministry leader who moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Bryan, Texas. Aware of how easy it would be to settle into a Christian bubble; Cash committed to a simple weekly rhythm: one hour on a college campus each Thursday to share the gospel. What began with awkward conversations and a weekly temptation to skip grew into a steady practice of “leaning in.” Through honest moments and surprising openness, Cash discovered that showing up faithfully, even in small ways, creates space for God to move in big ones.
.png?sfvrsn=7d06d277_2)
Jared Lentz
H2O Kent
Jared Lentz of H2O Church shares his journey of learning to say "yes" to God's call, even when the path felt uncomfortable or uncertain. From ministering as a student, to serving as a resident missionary, to now committing long-term to campus ministry, each season has stretched his faith and deepened his trust in God. Through the challenges of raising support and facing the unknowns of each next step, Jared has witnessed God's faithfulness again and again. His story is a testament to the power of obedience–showing how simple, faithful yeses can lead to unexpected provision, transformation, and lasting impact.
Responding to a Changing World:
How Reliant's Partners are
Innovating in Missions
As we look ahead, it’s essential to recognize the broader forces reshaping missions and ministry today. Cultural shifts, technological innovation, and changes within the Church are rapidly redefining how missionaries are sent, supported, and sustained. These aren’t distant trends—they are unfolding now, impacting how churches disciple, send, and care for workers on the field.
In 2024, we had the privilege of walking alongside churches and ministries navigating these changes with faithfulness and resolve. The interviews that follow highlight how they are responding with courage, creativity, and conviction. As the “Great Dechurching” gained momentum, we partnered with pastors reimagining how their congregations could remain missionally active without relying on traditional giving models. We stood with leaders exploring new ways to send and support workers, some for the very first time. As digital evangelism expanded, our partners stepped into online spaces with boldness and clarity, meeting people where they already are. Through residency programs and short-term pathways, they opened new doors for the next generation to engage in God’s mission, while still championing those called to long-term service.
Through it all, we deepened our role as a trusted partner—coming alongside others with God-sized visions and helping make more ministry happen, both locally and around the world.
Empowering the Church as a Sending Agent
Throughout church history, the call to send missionaries has taken many forms. In today’s context, more local churches and church networks are embracing that responsibility directly. Rather than relying solely on outside agencies, many churches are now mobilizing, sending, and supporting missionaries as a core part of their mission and discipleship strategy.
One such network is the Acts2 Network, a group of over 35 churches across the U.S. that focus on planting churches near universities and engaging their graduates in ongoing campus ministry. This past year, the Acts2 Network sent 72 missionaries overseas through a partnership with Reliant.
In the following conversation, Timothy Rhee, Leader of the Acts2 Network’s One-Year Foreign Missions Program, and Mike Easton, International Program Manager at Reliant, reflect on the role of the sending church and its growing ownership in the missionary-sending process.
Short-Term Vs. Long-Term Mission Trends
In recent years, one church’s global outreach and residency program has undergone a meaningful shift. What once were purely short-term, event-driven trips, have grown into a deeper investment in long-term missions and discipleship. Through intentional training and relational investment, Marty and Grace Bible Church have continued to mobilize Millennials and Gen Z for global mission. In contrast to declining national trends in long-term sending, the church is seeing a surprising and encouraging wave of long-term commitments.
In the conversation that follows, Marty, a ministry leader at Grace Bible Church, joins Mike Easton, Reliant’s International Program Manager, to reflect on how their church is navigating the full spectrum of mission involvement. They share insights from a decade-long partnership with Launch Global, discuss the shift from mobilization events to long-term discipleship, and highlight how churches are reengaging college students while creating cross-cultural mission opportunities in their own communities.
Responding to Dechurching
Over the past few decades, the American church has experienced a significant exodus. Millions have stepped away from regular church attendance, many still identifying as Christians, yet disconnected from a local faith community. This growing movement, often referred to as “dechurching,” isn’t just a trend, it’s a deeply personal story unfolding in cities, suburbs, and small towns across the country.
In response, some churches are exploring a different way forward. It is a path rooted in slower, smaller, and more relational work.
Ronnie Goble, pastor of Rooted Church in Metro Detroit, is leaning into that approach. Rooted is a young church plant that’s already become a home for people for the dechurched and the never churched. Through everyday presence, intentional relationships, and a patient approach to discipleship, Ronnie and his church are meeting people where they are and inviting them into something deeper.
In this conversation, Ronnie shares what they’re learning from the frontlines about dechurching, reconnection, and the kind of slow work they are doing for renewal in their city.
Digital Missions
As everyday life becomes increasingly digital, the way we think about missions is shifting as well. More people are living, working, and building community online, raising important questions about how we share the gospel in a connected world.
Our partner, The Church Digital, is embracing this shift not just as a challenge, but as a mission field. They equip digital missionaries to engage real people in real digital communities and treat platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and virtual reality as places where the gospel can take root.
In the interview that follows, Jeff Reed shares how they define digital missions, how they’re equipping a global network of digital missionaries, and the stories of transformation already taking place online.
Financials & Stewardship:
Transparency & Sustainability
2024 Giving Breakdown
Giving in 2024 reached an all-time high. This growth was more than financial; it reflected the increasing reach of ministry made possible through empowered churches and ministries worldwide.
This impact did not come from major campaigns or large grants. It was sustained by the steady, faithful support of tens of thousands of individual donors whose recurring gifts help make more ministry happen every day.
Commitment to Financial Integrity
At Reliant, we are deeply committed to financial integrity and accountability. We undergo an annual independent audit, are proud members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and maintain rigorous internal standards to steward every dollar with care. Our gifted finance and operations team is dedicated to excellence, giving our partners peace of mind and freeing them to stay focused on the mission God has entrusted to them.
Reliant Mission is profoundly thankful for your steadfast and unwavering partnership. God graciously supplies the financial resources through generous donors like you to make more ministry happen.
We never take this generous provision for granted. Despite the many global challenges cited in this report, the ministry of Reliant continues to flourish because of dedicated partners like you. 2024 was a remarkable year, with over 15 percent growth in workers serving the Kingdom of God in the U.S. and throughout the world. We are grateful to see how God has provided for Reliant field workers and the people whom they serve! Your gifts make it all possible, propelling the work of Reliant and our ministry partners to bring love, hope, and healing to a hurting world in desperate need of the gospel!
I would like to take this opportunity to underscore several key aspects of Reliant’s organizational governance. Our guiding principles emphasize operational excellence and accountability. Our board of directors and Audit Review & Finance Committee are comprised of outstanding professionals from ministry and business contexts who provide strategic leadership, long-term thinking, risk management, and accountability for Reliant.
Since 1992, we have been a committed member of the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability (ECFA), representing and reflecting our pledge to transparency, careful oversight, and honor of charitable expectations. As always, our 2024 financial records were audited by the independent accounting firm Forvis Mazars. The audit report is currently being finalized and will be available soon on our website, reliant.org, along with reports from previous years. For additional information on Reliant’s governance and accountability, please click here.
Thank you again for your financial support of Reliant and our ministry partners.
-1.png?sfvrsn=ef04d277_2)
A Message
Of Thanks
To our donors and partners, we thank you for your steadfast commitment to expanding God’s Kingdom in powerful ways. It’s an honor to walk alongside each of you in the work of the gospel, knowing that together we’re part of something eternal and transformative. May our efforts bear fruit that echoes for generations to come.
A Prayer for Remaining Steadfast in the Work of the Lord
Lord of all,
As new generations rise into shifting mission fields, grant us strength and wisdom to serve boldly, together.
Amidst the realities of dechurching, we pray for the reconciliation of Your people and the patience to remain steadfast.
In this time of globalization and rapid technological change, guide us with creativity to carry the gospel wherever it is needed.
We trust that You are at work. Strengthen us to be faithful. May Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done. Amen.
From the
Chief Financial Officer
.png?sfvrsn=804d277_2)
James Kaufman
Reliant Mission is profoundly thankful for your steadfast and unwavering partnership. God graciously supplies the financial resources through generous donors like you to make more ministry happen.
We never take this generous provision for granted. Despite the many global challenges cited in this report, the ministry of Reliant continues to flourish because of dedicated partners like you. 2024 was a remarkable year, with over 15 percent growth in workers serving the Kingdom of God in the U.S. and throughout the world. We are grateful to see how God has provided for Reliant field workers and the people whom they serve! Your gifts make it all possible, propelling the work of Reliant and our ministry partners to bring love, hope, and healing to a hurting world in desperate need of the gospel!
I would like to take this opportunity to underscore several key aspects of Reliant’s organizational governance. Our guiding principles emphasize operational excellence and accountability. Our board of directors and Audit Review & Finance Committee are comprised of outstanding professionals from ministry and business contexts who provide strategic leadership, long-term thinking, risk management, and accountability for Reliant.
Since 1992, we have been a committed member of the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability (ECFA), representing and reflecting our pledge to transparency, careful oversight, and honor of charitable expectations. As always, our 2024 financial records were audited by the independent accounting firm Forvis Mazars. The audit report is currently being finalized and will be available soon on our website, reliant.org, along with reports from previous years. For additional information on Reliant’s governance and accountability, please click here.
Thank you again for your financial support of Reliant and our ministry partners.
A Message | To our donors and partners, we thank you for your steadfast commitment to expanding God’s Kingdom in powerful ways. It’s an honor to walk alongside each of you in the work of the gospel, knowing that together we’re part of something eternal and transformative. May our efforts bear fruit that echoes for generations to come. |
A Prayer for Remaining
Steadfast in the
Work of the Lord
Lord of all,
As new generations rise into shifting mission fields, grant us strength and wisdom to serve boldly, together.
Amidst the realities of dechurching, we pray for the reconciliation of Your people and the patience to remain steadfast.
In this time of globalization and rapid technological change, guide us with creativity to carry the gospel wherever it is needed.
We trust that You are at work. Strengthen us to be faithful. May Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done. Amen.
A Message | To our donors and partners, we thank you for your steadfast commitment to expanding God’s Kingdom in powerful ways. It’s an honor to walk alongside each of you in the work of the gospel, knowing that together we’re part of something eternal and transformative. May our efforts bear fruit that echoes for generations to come. |
A Prayer for Remaining
Steadfast in the
Work of the Lord
Lord of all,
As new generations rise into shifting mission fields, grant us strength and wisdom to serve boldly, together.
Amidst the realities of dechurching, we pray for the reconciliation of Your people and the patience to remain steadfast.
In this time of globalization and rapid technological change, guide us with creativity to carry the gospel wherever it is needed.
We trust that You are at work. Strengthen us to be faithful. May Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done. Amen.
Board Members
Bisi Adewunmi (Chair)
Executive Director at Ann Arbor Smiles Dental Group and Small Business Consultant
.png?sfvrsn=227bd277_2)
Mark Brett (Vice Chair)
Chief Operating Officer, Ascension Southwest Michigan Region
.png?sfvrsn=3e7bd277_2)
Kara LaFleur
Physician Assistant at Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Hospital
.png?sfvrsn=3a7bd277_2)
Brooke Collins
Pre-Sales Director at Lyric
.png?sfvrsn=4e7bd277_2)
Fred Choi
Executive Pastor at Fellowship Denver Church
.png?sfvrsn=327bd277_2)
Sarah Gritter, MD
Attending Physician and Director of Quality
.png?sfvrsn=4a7bd277_2)
Teresa Harris
Account Director at Vertafore
.png?sfvrsn=467bd277_2)
JR Woodward
National Director, The V3 Movement
.png?sfvrsn=367bd277_2)
Mike Smith
Lead Pastor Vista Community Church
.png?sfvrsn=267bd277_2)
Danielle Tandon, CPA
Certified Public Accountant
Board Members
Bisi Adewunmi (Chair)
Executive Director at Ann Arbor Smiles Dental Group and Small Business Consultant
Mark Brett (Vice Chair)
Chief Operating Officer, Ascension Southwest Michigan Region
Kara LaFleur
Physician Assistant at Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Hospital
Brooke Collins
Pre-Sales Director at Lyric
Fred Choi
Executive Pastor at Fellowship Denver Church
Sarah Gritter, MD
Attending Physician and Director of Quality
Teresa Harris
Account Director at Vertafore
JR Woodward
National Director, The V3 Movement
Mike Smith
Lead Pastor Vista Community Church
Danielle Tandon, CPA
Certified Public Accountant
